J Soils Sediments

DOI 10.1007/s11368-016-1544-9

ISEB 2015: BIOGEOCHEMICAL DYNAMICS OF SEDIMENT-WATER SYSTEMS: PROCESSES AND MODELLING

Changes in the pH, EC, available P, SOC and TN stocks

in a single rice paddy after long-term application of inorganic
fertilizers and organic matters in a cold temperate region of Japan
Weiguo Cheng 1 & Agnes T. Padre 2 & Hiroyuki Shiono 3 & Chizuru Sato 1 &
Toan Nguyen-Sy 1 & Keitaro Tawaraya 1 & Katsumi Kumagai 3

Received: 3 February 2016 / Accepted: 29 August 2016

# Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016

Abstract
Purpose The objective of this study was to determine the
changes in the main soil chemical properties including pH,
electrical conductivity (EC), available phosphorus (P), soil
organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks after
long-term (31 years) additions of two types of organic mattersrice straw and rice straw compost, combined with NPK
fertilizers in single rice paddy in a cold temperate region of
Japan.
Materials and methods A long-term experiment on combined
inorganic fertilizers and organic matters in paddy rice cultivation began in May 1982 in Yamagata, northeastern Japan.
After the 31st harvest, soil samples were collected from five
treatments [(1) PK, (2) NPK, (3) NPK + 6 Mg ha1 rice straw
(RS), (4) NPK + 10 Mg ha1 rice straw compost (CM1), and
(5) NPK + 30 Mg ha1 rice straw compost (CM3)] at five soil
depths (05, 510, 1015, 1520, and 2025 cm). Soil chemical properties of pH, EC, available P, SOC, and TN were
analyzed.
Results and discussion The pH decreased significantly only at
the higher compost rate of 30 Mg ha1, while EC increased in
all the organic matter treatments. Available P significantly

increased in the CM1 and CM3 treatments by 55.1 and

86.4 %. The amounts of SOC stock increased by 67.2, 21.4,
and 8.6 %, and soil TN stock by 64.1, 20.2, and 8.5 % in CM3,
RS, and CM1, respectively, compared to NPK treatment.
Conclusions Significant changes in soil properties were observed after 31 years of organic matter applications with reference to PK- and NPK-fertilized rice paddy soils. A significant decrease in pH was observed with the application of a
high rate (30 Mg ha1) of rice straw compost but not with the
conventional rate of 10 Mg ha1. However, EC increased significantly relative to that of the PK- and NPK-fertilized plots
in all the organic matter treatments. Available P significantly
increased in the CM1 and CM3 treatments by 55.1 and
86.4 %. The amounts of SOC stock expressed as a percentage
of total C applied to the soil were higher from 10 Mg ha1
compost (28.7 %) than that from 6 Mg ha1 rice straw
(17.4 %), indicating a more effective soil organic C accumulation from rice straw compost than that from original rice
straw.
Keywords Available P . C and N stocks . Cold temperate
region . Long-term experiment . pH . Single rice paddy

Responsible editor: Jadran Faganeli

1 Introduction
* Weiguo Cheng
cheng@tds1.tr.yamagata-u.ac.jp

Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, 1-23 Wakaba-machi,

Tsuruoka, Yamagata 997-8555, Japan

Crop and Environmental Sciences Division, International Rice

Research Institute (IRRI), DAPO Box, 7777 Los Baos, Laguna,
Philippines

Yamagata Integrated Agricultural Research Center, 6060-27

Minorigaoka, Yamagata-shi, Yamagata 990-2373, Japan

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) can be grown under a wider variety of

climatic, soil, and hydrological conditions than any other crop.
It can be cultivated two or three times a year in tropical and
subtropical zones and one time in temperate zones with or
without a secondary crop, such as wheat or rape. Single rice
cropping is a common system in cold temperate regions, like
northeast of Japan, because there is a long snow cover period
during the winter season (Nakajima et al. 2016; Tang et al.
2016). Rice paddies account for a large fraction of the wetland

J Soils Sediments

ecosystem and most of them are in Asian countries. The rice

harvest area amounted to 144 Mha in Asian countries, which
is 88 % of the total harvest area (163 Mha) in the world in
2014 (FAO 2015).
Long-term experiments (LTEs) on continuous cropping
systems using various agronomic and cultural management
practices provide a direct method not only to determine their
productivity and sustainability but also to verify how environmental factors can affect agroecosystems and future global
climate change (Rasmussen et al. 1998; Krschens 2006).
The LTE can provide observations of soil change and functioning across time scales of decades, data critical for biological, biogeochemical, and environmental assessments of sustainability, predictions of soil productivity, and soilenvironment interactions (Richter et al. 2007; Hopkins et al. 2009).
Changes in pH, electrical conductivity (EC), available phosphorus (P), soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN),
and other properties resulting from various long-term inorganic fertilizer and organic matter management practices have
been investigated in many regions around the world, mostly
in uplands (Smith et al. 1997; Grant et al. 2001; Blair et al.
2006; Peltre et al. 2012; Dimassi et al. 2013; Ktterer et al.
2014; Kumar et al. 2014). On the other hand, a few long-term
studies on continuous lowland rice cropping (two or three
times per year) have been reported from the Philippines
(Pampolino et al. 2006), China (Yan et al. 2007; Tong et al.
2009; Dong et al. 2012; Yan et al. 2015), and India (Mandal
et al. 2007; Nayak et al. 2009; Tripathi et al. 2014) in the
humidsubtropical regions. Also, there are LTEs on rice and
upland crop systems in the same regions but most of the data
generated were limited to grain yield trends (Dawe et al. 2000;
Yadav et al. 2000; Gami et al. 2001; Ladha et al. 2003; Padre
et al. 2007; Mao et al. 2015). In the temperate regions, there
are many single rice LTEs carried out in Japan. The oldest
LTE was started in 1926 in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture
(Kanamori 2000). However, there were few reports regarding
the changes in pH, EC, available P, SOC, and TN from single
rice LTEs in the temperate regions. Also, it is unclear how the
long-term application of organic matters can affect SOC sequestration and N balance in the temperate rice paddies.
The objective of this study was to determine the changes in
soil pH, EC, available P, SOC and TN stocks after long-term
(31 years) additions of two types of organic mattersrice
straw and rice straw compost, combined with NPK fertilizers
in single rice paddy in a cold temperate region of Japan.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Site description and treatments
The long-term experimental field is located at the Yamagata
Integrated Agricultural Research Center, Yamagata, Japan

(38 15 N, 140 15 E), belonging to a typical humid temperate climate zone. The mean annual temperature at the site was
11.7 C and annual precipitation was 1163 mm in the past
30 years (19812010) according to data recorded at
Yamagata Meteorological Station (http://www.data.jma.go.
jp/). Rice is grown in the area from May to September, and
the rice field is left on fallow for the remaining 7 months per
year. The long-term experiment began in May 1982 for first
rice growth season. The soil is classified as Inceptisol by US
Soil Taxonomy (Cheng et al. 2007). The initial soil had a pH
(H2O) of 5.56, SOC of 8.9 g kg1, and TN of 1.1 g kg1 in the
depth of 012 cm (Yamagata Agricultural Research Station
1983).
Soil samples were collected from the following treatment
plots: (1) PK, (2) NPK, (3) NPK + 6 Mg ha1 rice straw (RS),
(4) NPK + 10 Mg ha1 rice straw compost (CM1), and (5)
NPK + 30 Mg ha1 rice straw compost (CM3). The area of
each square plot was 100 m2. NPK fertilizers were applied as
ammonium sulfate at 80 kg N ha1, monocalcium phosphate
at 68 kg P2O5 ha1, and potassium chloride at 68 kg K2O ha1.
Monocalcium phosphate was applied as basic fertilization,
while ammonium sulfate and potassium chloride were applied
twice as basic and additional fertilizations. The 6 Mg ha1 rate
of rice straw incorporation was estimated from the average
straw yield that was returned to the soil in the rice straw treatment. The 10 Mg ha1 rate of rice straw compost was the local
convention recommended by the local government. The rice
straw compost was produced outdoors without any material
addition for about 23 years until the volume did not change.
Descriptions of the organic matters used are shown in Table 1.
Rice straw was left on the soil surface after harvest and during
the winter season. It was incorporated into the soil during the
land preparation for the next rice-cropping season. The rice
straw was removed after harvest leaving only the stubbles in
the PK, NPK, CM1, and CM3 treatments. The rice straw
compost was incorporated during land preparation in the
CM1 and CM3 treatments, while the NPK fertilizers were
broadcasted.

2.2 Soil sampling and analysis

On Nov 19, 2012, after the 31st rice crop harvest, soil samples
were collected from the 05, 510, 1015, 1520, and 20
25 cm soil depths at each plot by DIK-106B soil sampler
(Daiki, Saitama, Japan), in which soil profile in one core (0
25 cm) can be divided in the five layers. We collected soil
samples until 25 cm because the plow layer of rice paddy is
from surface to 15 cm and rice roots mostly reached to 25 cm.
Nine core soil samples were taken from each plot (treatment),
and three cores were mixed to make up one replicate sample
for a total of three replicates for each treatment plot. The soils
were air dried and sieved (2 mm) before analysis.

J Soils Sediments
Table 1 Water, organic C, and
total N contents, as well as the
application rates of the organic
matters used in the long-term
experiment at every rice growth
season

Organic matters

Rice straw in
RS treatment
(6 Mg ha1)

Straw compost in
CM1 treatment
(10 Mg ha1)

Water content (%)

Organic C (g kg1 dry weight)
Total N (g kg1 dry weight)
C/N
Organic C (kg ha1)
Total N (kg ha1)

10.0
387
6.0
64.5
2090
32.4

76.3 2.9a
216 12a
16.7 2.0a
12.9
512
39.6

Straw compost in
CM3 treatment
(30 Mg ha1)
76.3 2.9a
216 12a
16.7 2.0a
12.9
1536
118.7

Water, organic C, and total N contents are average values from rice straw compost samples analyzed in 1996,
2002, and 2013; the values showed mean SD. Rice straw sample was only analyzed in 2013

Soil pH and EC were measured in a 1:2.5 (soil/water ratio,

w/v) mixture using a glass electrode pH meter (D-51, Horiba,
Kyoto, Japan) and an EC meter (Cond-meter DS-51, Horiba,
Kyoto, Japan). Available P was measured by Truog method
extracted by 0.002 N H2SO4 solution (JSSSPN 1986). SOC
and TN were analyzed by CN-900 Analyzer (Sumika
Chemical Analysis Service, Tokyo, Japan).
2.3 Data calculations and statistical analyses
The amounts of SOC and TN stocks were calculated for the
total 025 cm depth of soil in all treatments. The bulk density
was assumed at 1.2 g cm3 as the original value before LTE
begins (Yamagata Agricultural Research Station 1983).
Though the real bulk densities were changed after long-term
organic matters and inorganic fertilizer application in the plots,
the depths also increased with the decrease in bulk densities
(Ellert and Bettany 1995). So using the original bulk density
value should be better than the real one to calculate the changes
in SOC and TN stocks among all treatments due to the change
in real depth in each treatment was not measured.
The increases in the amounts of SOC and TN stocks were
calculated as the stocks of SOC and TN in the organic matter
treatment minus those in the NPK treatment. The rates of SOC
stock from applied organic matter were calculated as the
change in SOC measured from organic fertilizer treatment in
the 31st year relative to that in the NPK treatment divided by
the total C applied in the organic matter treatment during
31 years. Since rice absorbed both sources of N from organic
matter and chemical fertilizer, the N balance in all treatments
was calculated from the differences between the amounts of N
absorbed in rice aboveground biomass (taken out every season) and the amount N applied from organic matter and chemical fertilizer.
The SAS mixed procedure (SAS v. 9.00) was used to test
treatment fixed effects while Tukeys test was used for the
pairwise comparison of means.
Data for total 025 cm depth in all treatments were calculated from each of five soil layers by arithmetic mean,

while the bulk density was assumed to be the same for all
soil layers.

3 Results
3.1 Changes in soil pH and EC
Soils that had been applied with organic matter had a lower pH
and higher EC as compared to soils that had received no N
fertilizer (PK) or only inorganic fertilizer (NPK). Only the
higher dose of composted manure at 30 Mg ha1 significantly
reduced soil pH, while both doses of CM (10 and 30 Mg ha1)
significantly increased EC relative to the PK and NPK treatments at 025 cm soils (Figs. 1A and 2A). Soil pH showed
significant differences across fertilizer treatments (F) but not
across soil depths (D). There was no significant F D interactions on soil pH (Table 2). Both fertilizer treatment and soil
depth had a significant effect on the variability in EC without
interactions (Table 2).
3.2 Changes in soil available P
Both fertilizer treatment and soil depth had a significant effect
on the variability in available P without interactions (Table 2).
Long-term application of CM at 10 and 30 Mg ha1 year1
brought about a significant increase in available P concentration of 55.1 and 86.4 % over the NPK treatment. However, no
significant difference in available P was observed in the RS
treatment as compared to the NPK treatment (Fig. 3A).
Available P concentration was highest in the 510 or 10
15 cm soil layers in all five treatments (Fig. 3B).
3.3 Changes in SOC and TN stocks
Both fertilizer treatment and soil depth had a significant effect
on the variability in SOC and TN stocks without interactions
(Table 2). All the organic matter treatments resulted in significantly higher SOC and TN stocks in the 025 cm depth as

J Soils Sediments

organic matters to a certain extent depending on the type of

fertilizer and organic matter used. Dong et al. (2012) reported
that pH decreased over the years of long-term application of
chemical fertilizer and organic manure, but the rate of decline
was relatively lower than that of the unfertilized treatment on
the rice paddies in the red region of southern China. In our
study, the pH decreased significantly relative to the PK and
NPK treatments only at the higher compost rate of 30 Mg ha1
(Fig. 1A). There were no significant differences among PK,
NPK, RS, and CM1 treatments with values ranging from 5.52
to 5.69 similar to the initial soil pH of 5.56 in 1982 (Yamagata
Agricultural Research Station 1983). The decrease in pH at
the higher compost rate of 30 Mg ha1 was due to the buildup
of soil organic matter producing organic acids. Soil pH is a
key factor affecting crop growth. Reduced pH may affect the
availability of soil nutrients including N and P and may be
detrimental to soil health.
The pH of the soil in the CM3 treatment (5.42) is lower
than the pH range (5.56.0), which is considered to be suitable

Fig. 1 Long-term effects of inorganic fertilizer and organic matter

treatments on the changes in pH at the 025 cm soil depth (A) and at
5 cm soil depth increments (B). In A, the columns with same letters are
not significantly different at the 5 % level. Bars indicate the standard error
(SE) for each treatment in A

compared to the PK and NPK treatments. Moreover, distinct

differences in SOC and TN were observed among the three
organic matter treatments (Tables 3 and 4). Total amounts of
SOC increased by 67.2, 21.4, and 8.7 %, while TN increased
by 64.1, 20.2, and 8.5 %, in CM3, RS, and CM1, respectively,
relative to the NPK treatment (Tables 3 and 4). The amounts of
SOC and TN stocks showed a slight reduction in the PK treatment by 5.2 and 5.7 % compared to NPK treatment (Tables 3
and 4). The highest SOC and TN at 025 cm soil depth were
observed in CM3 which supplied 1536 kg ha1 year1 of organic C and 118.7 kg ha1 year1 of organic N (Table 1).

4 Discussion
4.1 Effect of long-term application of organic matters
on soil pH, EC, and available P
Many previous researches have shown that soil pH was affected by long-term application of inorganic fertilizers and

Fig. 2 Long-term effects of inorganic fertilizer and organic matter

treatments on the changes in EC at the 025 cm soil depth (A) and at
5 cm soil depth increments (B). In A, the columns with same letters are
not significantly different at the 5 % level. Bars indicate the standard error
(SE) for each treatment in A

J Soils Sediments
Table 2 Test of interacted effects, using the SAS mixed procedure, on
the chemical properties of soils from the 31 years long-term experiment
treated with inorganic fertilizers and organic matters
Effect

pH

EC

Av P

SOC

TN

Pr > F
Treatments (T)
Soil depth (D)

0.002
0.888

<0.001
0.015

<0.001
<0.001

<0.001
<0.001

<0.001
<0.001

TD

0.999

0.266

0.309

0.496

0.468

EC electrical conductivity, Av P available phosphorus, SOC soil organic

carbon stock, TN total nitrogen stock

for rice production in the local region, Yamagata Prefecture,

Japan. The application rate of compost should be regulated to
avoid a detrimental reduction in soil pH. However, the lower
rate of compost (10 Mg ha1) as local conventional application recommended by local government, and rice straw applied at 6 Mg ha1, with all harvested rice straw returned to
soil, did not significantly affect the soil pH. The change in EC

with rice straw compost amendment was more pronounced

than the change in pH. The minerals in rice straw compost
may have caused the increase in EC in the CM1 and CM3
treatments. On the other hand, absorption of minerals by the
rice plant may have led to a lower EC in the NPK than in the
PK treatment (Fig. 2A). The soils which received long-term
applications of organic matters had significantly higher available P as compared to the continuously cultivated soil with
inorganic fertilizers only. Furthermore, higher available P was
found in soils amended with rice compost as compared to that
amended with rice straw. This is primarily due to the
mineralization and release of P from the applied organic
materials. Sikora and Enkiri (2003) reported that P in compost
is as available to the plant as triple superphosphate.
Continuous application of compost for 31 years at a high rate
of 30 Mg ha1 in the CM3 treatment gave an 86 % increase in
available P (Fig. 3A). There are evidences that organic amendments at high rates can cause dramatic increases in soil nutrients (e.g., available P) (Ghosh et al. 2012) that may lead to
increased leaching and losses to surface runoff depending on P
buffering capacity of the soil (Allen and Mallarino 2006).
4.2 Effect of long-term application of organic matters
on SOC and TN stocks

Fig. 3 Long-term effects of inorganic fertilizer and organic matter

treatments on the changes in available P at the 025 cm soil depth (A)
and at 5 cm soil depth increments (B). In A, the columns with same letters
are not significantly different at the 5 % level. Bars indicate the standard
error (SE) for each treatment in A

Inorganic fertilizer and organic matter application practices

play a key role in the regulation of soil organic matter in
agricultural soils (Karlsson et al. 2003; Tong et al. 2009;
Zhang et al. 2012). Our soil analyses have shown that continuous rice cultivation with 1030 Mg ha1 of rice straw compost and 6 Mg ha1 of rice straw, each in combination with
NPK, increased the amounts of SOC stock by 8.767.2 and
21.4 %, respectively, over a period of 31 years relative to soils
that received only NPK. The PK treatment decreased SOC
stock by 5.2 % relative to that of the NPK treatment
(Table 3), respectively. Furthermore, organic manure applications increased the C storage by 726 Mg C ha1 as reported
from 28 to 53 years long-term rice experiments in central and
northern Japan (average of 0.250.5 Mg C ha1 year1) compared to the NPK applications (Inubushi et al. 1984).
Recently, a meta-analysis showed that the rates of SOC
change in the fertilization treatments with C incorporation
(e.g., manure application or straw return) were noticeably
higher (0.401 g kg1 year1) than those treated with inorganic
chemical fertilizers only (0.046 g kg1 year1) based on 95
long-term field experiments in Chinas paddy soils (Tian et al.
2015). In our study, the increase in amounts of SOC stock
relative to NPK treatment was 11.27, 4.55, and 35.37 Mg
C ha1 in RS, CM1, and CM3 treatments after 31 years
long-term organic matters application (Table 3). It was equal
to 0.36, 0.15 and 1.14 Mg ha1 year1 (or 0.12, 0.05, and
0.38 g kg1 year1) in RS, CM1, and CM3 treatments,
respectively. The ranges of increase in SOC stock were

J Soils Sediments
Table 3 Total amounts of SOC stock at 025 cm soil depth and the effects of continuously applying C from organic matters on the SOC stocks after
31 years
Treatment

Amounts of C
applied each year

Total amounts
of C applied (A)

(kg C ha1 year1)

(Mg C ha1)

Total amounts
of SOC stock

Increase in the amounts

of SOC stocks relative
to NPK plot (B)

Percentage of increase
SOC stocks relative
to NPK plot

Rate of increase of
SOC to the amounts
of total applied C (B/A)

(%)

PK

49.91

2.74

5.2

NPK
RS

2090

64.78

52.65
63.92

0
11.27

0
21.4

17.4

CM1

512

15.87

57.21

4.55

8.7

28.7

CM3

1536

47.61

88.02

35.37

67.2

74.3

similar to previous results reported by Inubushi et al. (1984)

from Japanese rice paddies and recent results by Tian et al.
(2015) from Chinese rice paddies.
The rates of increase of SOC stock in three organic matter
treatments in the 025 cm depth relative to the total applied C
from organic matter were 17.4, 28.7, and 74.3 % in RS, CM1,
and CM3 treatments, respectively (Table 3). A long-term continuous ricewheat experiment in Fukuoka, southern Japan,
reported a lower C accumulation from the incorporation of rice
and wheat straw at 6.78.7 %. The rice wheat system in
Fukuoka, southern Japan created an alternate anaerobicaerobic
environment where rice straw may decompose at a faster rate
under aerobic condition during the winter wheat season (Padre
et al. 2005). In this study, rice straw was added under anaerobic
condition during the flooded rice season, so decomposition may
be slower allowing for a greater C accumulation. Lower temperature and high moisture covered by snow in the fallow winter season in our research site, northern Japan (Tang et al. 2016),
also decreased soil organic matter decomposition and increased
the accumulation of the applied C than in the warmer sites of

southern Japan and subtropical India (Padre et al. 2005; Mandal

et al. 2007). Not only quantity but also quality of the applied
organic matter could affect soil C stock. In this study, the SOC
stocks expressed as a percentage of the total applied organic C
were lower from RS (17.4 %) with high C/N ratio (64.5) than
that from rice straw compost (28.7 % for CM1 and 74.3 % for
CM3) with low C/N ratio (12.9) (Tables 1 and 3).
N is the element that most often limits rice plant growth in
paddy soil (Cheng et al. 2015). The changes in soil TN stock
usually were determined by the balance of N application from
inorganic fertilizers and organic matters and absorption by the
rice aboveground biomass in a rice paddy ecosystem. But the
input from N fixation and irrigation water and output from
denitrification also control the N balance and stock in the rice
paddy (Koyama and App 1979; Kyuma 2004). Our soil analyses have shown that continuous rice cultivation with 10
30 Mg ha1 of rice straw compost and 6 Mg ha1 of rice straw,
each in combination with NPK, increased TN stocks by 8.5
64.1 and 20.2 %, respectively, over a period of 31 years relative to soils that received only NPK. The TN in PK treatment

Table 4 Total amounts of N applied from inorganic fertilizers and organic matters, N absorption by rice aboveground biomass, N balance between
applied and absorption, and the amounts of TN stock at 025 cm soil depth during 31 years among five treatments
Treatment

Amounts of N
applied from
inorganic
fertilizers

Amounts of N
applied from
organic matters
(A)

Absorption
N in rice
aboveground
biomassa

N balance
between
applied and
absorption

(kg N ha1 year1)

PK
NPK
RS
CM1

0
80
80
80

CM3

80

Total amounts
of TN stock

Increase in the
amounts of TN
stocks relative
to NPK plot (B)

(kg N ha1)

Percentage of
increase TN
stocks relative
to NPK plot

Rate of increase
of TN to the
amounts of total
applied N from
organic matters
(B / (A 31))

(%)

32.4
39.6

54.6
103.6
119.2
114.3

54.6
23.6
6.8
5.3

3718
3942
4739
4276

224
0
797
334

5.7
0
20.2
8.5

79.4
27.2

118.7

135.7

63.0

6467

2525

64.1

68.6

Average of 31 years measurement data from 1982 to 2012

J Soils Sediments

(A)

PK

Soil TN stock (Mg N ha-1)

NPK
RS

CM1
CM3
5
R = 0.942
P<0.05
(n = 4)

3
80

50

100

120

140

160

Rice absorbed N (kg N ha-1 yr -1)

Soil TN stock (Mg N ha-1)

(B)

PK
NPK
RS
CM1

CM3

R = 0.886
P<0.05
(n = 5)

3
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
N balance (kg N ha-1 yr-1 )
Fig. 4 The relationship between the soil TN stock and the rice absorbed
N (A), as well as the soil TN stock and annual N balance (B). The N
balance is N absorbed by rice aboveground biomass minus N applied
from inorganic fertilizers and organic matters among the five treatments

decreased by 5.8 % relative to the NPK treatment (Table 4).

The changes in SOC and TN stocks were similar in our single
rice LTE carried out in cold temperate region implying that
SOC sequestration could not happen without N stock in the
rice paddy ecosystems. On the other hand, the rates of increasing soil TN stock in three organic matter treatments in the 0
25 cm depth relative to the amounts of total applied N from

organic matters were 79.4, 27.2, and 68.6 % in RS, CM1, and
CM3 treatments, respectively (Table 4). Compared to the rates
of increasing SOC stock in three organic matter treatments
relative to the total applied C from organic matter (17.4,
28.7, and 74.3 % in RS, CM1, and CM3 treatments, respectively, shown in Table 3), long-term rice straw application
enhanced soil TN stock from organic matter (79.4 %) larger
than that of SOC stock (17.4 %). It implied that the rates of
increase of SOC and TN stocks relative to the total applied C
and N from organic matters were different between rice straw
and rice straw compost due to the different C/N.
The annual N balance between fertilizer application and
absorption by crop aboveground biomass was negative not
only in the PK treatment (54.6 kg N ha1) but also in the
NPK (23.6 kg N ha1) and RS (6.8 kg N ha1) treatments.
On the other hand, the annual N balance was positive in both
CM1 (5.3 kg N ha1) and CM3 (63.0 kg N ha1) treatments
(Table 4). These results suggest that the rice paddy has a high
capacity to get N from N sources other than N fertilizer
(Koyama and App 1979). The absorbed N in rice aboveground biomass of PK treatment was 54.6 kg N ha1 year1,
equivalent to 53 % of that from the NPK treatment
(103.6 kg N ha1 year1) (Table 4). The absorbed N in rice
increased by 15.1, 10.3, and 31.0 % with RS, CM1, and CM3
treatments relative to that of the NPK treatment. Excluding the
PK treatment, there was a linear relationship (P < 0.05) between the amounts of TN stock and the average of annual rice
absorbed N (Fig. 4A), as well as the amounts of TN stock and
annual N balance (P < 0.05) (Fig. 4B).

5 Conclusions
Significant changes in soil properties were observed after
31 years of organic matter applications with reference to PK
and NPK fertilized rice paddy soils. A significant decrease in
pH was observed with the application of a high rate
(30 Mg ha1) of rice straw compost but not with the conventional rate of 10 Mg ha1. However, EC increased significantly
relative to that of the PK and NPK fertilized plots in all the
organic matter treatments. Available P significantly increased
in the CM1 and CM3 treatments by 55.1 and 86.4 %, respectively. The amounts of SOC stock expressed as a percentage of
total C applied to the soil was higher from 10 Mg ha1 compost
(28.7 %), than that from 6 Mg ha1 rice straw (17.4 %), indicating a more effective soil organic C accumulation from rice
straw compost than that from original rice straw.
Acknowledgments This research was funded in part by Grants-in-Aid
for Scientific Research and International Collaborations, Japan Society
for the Promotion of Science, and in part by The United Graduate School
of Agricultural Sciences, Iwate University and by Faculty of Agriculture,
Yamagata University.

J Soils Sediments

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